Chapter 216:

A crimson sunset hung in the sky, casting a deep red hue on the clouds. It looked as if the entire sky had been stained with blood. Underneath the crimson sunset, the desert stretched endlessly, with no boundaries in sight. An old man stood atop a sand dune, practicing his boxing. The old man was focused and immersed in his practice. He was alone in this vast desert, with no other living creature in sight. In the desert of the crimson sunset, the old man practiced his boxing alone. The desert seemed boundless, with only occasional hot winds blowing and picking up traces of yellow sand, as if he was the only person left in the world. It was evident that his boxing skills were extremely proficient. Each move flowed effortlessly, as if it was as natural as breathing. It had become ingrained in his body, a part of him. He was completely absorbed, focused. He immersed himself in this desert world, feeling both lonely and resolute. Suddenly. There was a sound in this desert. That was the sound of metal breaking, and faintly visible in the blood-red sky, there was a shattered shadow of a golden chain. The old man suddenly looked up, snapped out of his previous concentration, and continued to move his hands, still punching, but his eyes looked around in confusion. "Where am I?" He first looked around, then noticed his own body movements. Is he practicing the Long Life Fist? Even stranger, in his memory, he was only a hundred miles away from the Fang Yuan Desert, but at this moment, how could he be in a desert that seemed endless for thousands of miles? The vast expanse all around him seemed to be the only desert left in the whole world. As this thought came to his mind, this desert seemed to change silently. At the edge of his sight, it was no longer an endless yellow sand, but a pass appeared, which was the Anxi Pass that Qiao Mu remembered. And behind Qiao Mu, there was no longer boundless yellow sand, but a quiet and dilapidated old city had suddenly appeared. Qiao Mu suddenly turned around, feeling a strong shock in his heart. He was certain that just a moment ago, there was no such deserted city behind him, so how could a city suddenly appear out of nowhere? The strange thing is, in reality, the gate tower of the lonely city has already collapsed, and the whole city has been destroyed by the sandstorm brought by Taoist Qingzhuo, why does this city in front of him, although old, still remain intact, just like the lonely city he originally imagined? As this thought arose in Qiao Mu’s mind, the lonely city in front of him silently changed. The gate tower crashed down, the road behind the city walls was filled with sand and dust, and the houses on both sides were crushed by yellow sand… Qiao Mu frowned, and he had a vague guess in his mind. With a move of his thoughts, the Ouroboros Long Life Lock in his mind emitted a faint light, and a stream of information gushed out. Death Assessment this time: C- (exhausted in battle, scared away inhuman) Lifespan consumed by death: 5 (1 * 5) years Remaining resurrection chances this week: 0/5 Current age: 205 years old (remaining time 5 years) Energy and blood: 21% Skills: None ………… "Wow, he’s really going to spend 5 years in a small dark room training and then erase his memory?" Qiao Mu realized something, but then immediately furrowed his brows and realized that things weren’t simple. This isn’t some small dark room where time flows differently inside and outside, like a time room or something. It’s…a dream. "That’s right, it’s a dream." Qiao Mu’s senses were sharp, and at this moment, he had already noticed the strangeness of this world. After experiencing the death of S-, the second chain of the Long Life Lock shattered. But in reality, his body went through a change. It’s just that at that time, time was pressing, and he didn’t have time to carefully recall. He broke through to the 2nd rank of the Spiritual Refining Period. The second level of Spiritual Refining Period is characterized by a stronger mind than the third level. After entering the second level, memories from childhood to adulthood can be vividly recalled in the mind, similar to what is known as super memory, which is almost like having a photographic memory and being able to remember forgotten childhood memories. At the same time, a strong mind can further explore the surroundings, unlike the third level of spiritual refining, where intuition is limited to oneself. So, it was only when Qiao Mu reached the second level that he barely began to remember all the memories that had been forgotten or buried in his brain… No wonder every time he comes back to life and recalls the details of his martial arts training, it feels like a dream… It turns out that it was really a dream, just that the details were forgotten by him. Fun fact: Actually, most people dream every night, on average having 4-6 dreams. So-called dreamless nights are actually just when people forget the content of their dreams after waking up. The self-perception in dreams is different from reality, as time in dreams tends to pass more slowly than in real life. In ancient times, there was a story of a Dream of Red Mansions, where a traveler fell asleep in an inn and dreamed of going through his entire life, from being a commoner to becoming a prime minister, and even dying at the age of 80. Upon waking up, he realized that it was all just a dream, and the rice of the inn was still not cooked. There is also the story of the Dream of the Butterfly, where someone dreams of living a life of wealth and glory for thirty years, only to wake up and realize they were still in a dream. In a blink of an eye, decades passed in the dream world. "So, I have been dreaming all along…" Suddenly, Qiao Mu remembered something and quickly walked into the solitary city in his dream. He pushed open the door of the mansion where he used to live and stopped in front of a mirror in the bedroom, gazing at his own reflection in a daze. The person in the mirror looked very aged, and Qiao Mu had never seen anyone older than the person in the mirror before. His skin had become loose, with age spots on his face. Wrinkles covered his face, and his cheekbones had become prominent. His hair was now white and fell loosely behind his head, almost reaching his waist. Qiao Mu had seen this kind of aged appearance many times before; it wasn’t his first time looking in the mirror. In the past, he hadn’t paid much attention to it. Although aging in appearance could be considered a kind of price, in Qiao Mu’s eyes, this price was actually very small. Ordinary people who practice martial arts also have to spend many years before seeing results, but he had skipped the long years of accumulation. Now it seems different. Every time he died, his consciousness was trapped in this dream world, and he spent nearly two hundred years here. "So, I am really over two hundred years old?" Memories from his youth began to emerge in his mind. At the age of twenty, he died fighting against bandits alone. In the dream valley, he diligently trained for eight years, neglecting food and sleep, and became a master of the Military Spear Skill, with the muscle memory ingrained. In his forties, he was burned alive in Heyang City, Nan Province. In the dream, he continued to practice martial arts until his hair turned gray. At the age of sixty, he was executed at the vegetable market and had buns dipped in his blood. In the dream, he trained diligently for thirty years and mastered the fifth level of Hai Wuya’s Xumi Mountain King Sutra, which Hai Wuya hadn’t even achieved yet. Hai Wuya’s Xumi Mountain King Sutra at that time was only complete up to the fourth level, but Qiao Mu deduced and perfected the fifth level during his thirty years in the dream. Later, he used the excuse of it being a "family secret technique" to give the perfected fifth level to Hai Wuya, as a way to repay his favor. The memories of the past nearly two hundred years are vividly present in his mind, with every detail crystal clear. Qiao Mu looked at himself in the mirror and unconsciously took a step back. Suddenly, he felt a strange unfamiliarity towards the old man in the mirror. He always believed that he was still a young man, and the aging of his appearance was just a superficial change. But now he realized that he had indeed lived for over two hundred years… Thinking of this, he suddenly understood. No wonder every time he came back to life, the martial arts he practiced coincidentally matched the martial arts he wanted to practice. No wonder when practicing the "Shape Changing Skill," Qiao Mu created a new technique and derived a flesh clone from it, which perfectly matched his abilities. It turned out that he himself deduced it, but he had just forgotten about the events that happened in his dreams. Dream and reality don’t share the same timeline. Qiao Mu lowered his head, and the Ouroboros Long Life Lock in his mind emitted a faint glow. The Long Life Lock, also known as a life-saving lock, is an ancient gold or silver ornament worn by children. It is similar to a jade pendant or necklace, typically hung around the child’s neck in the shape of a lock. Its meaning is to "lock" life, preventing the child from an early death. Sёarch* The NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Often, ancient children’s Long Life Locks would have inscriptions such as "longevity" and "good luck" to bring good fortune. However, Qiao Mu’s Long Life Lock was different. On the Long Life Lock, there was a clear image of a snake with a tail, not made of stone or jade, but only existing in Qiao Mu’s imagination. The four words on the Long Life Lock were "eternal life"! "The Long Life Lock… locks my life. I won’t die, but every death means my consciousness will be trapped in a dream for a long time… However, the training process in my dreams is forgotten, only leaving me with vague memories and strong muscle memory." It’s hard to say if this is a reward or a punishment. Life in this world is difficult, and no matter how hard and tired a person is, there will be an end, a day of liberation. But not for Qiao Mu. He is a person who cannot die. Every time he dies, he spends a long time practicing alone in his dreams. Even after death, he doesn’t find release. He is like a prisoner in a dream in a certain sense. If there is an underworld in this world, Qiao Mu’s life clearly cannot be taken by the underworld. The Immortal Gate formation cannot confine him. His life is always securely locked by the Ouroboros Long Life Lock, constantly cycling between life and death. "If this is a dream, then what on earth is Death Assessment with different levels?" Qiao Mu furrowed his brow, deep in thought. The different levels of Death Assessment represent varying qualities of death, with higher ratings indicating longer dream durations. A C-level rating lasts only about 1 year, while an S-level can last several decades. Lost in the passage of time within the dream, Qiao Mu pondered for who knows how long before coming up with a hypothesis: "Perhaps, the different levels of Death Assessment actually represent the depth of the dream." "The higher the Death Assessment, the deeper the dream I will enter after I die." The time within the dream is not the same as in reality. As the dream gets deeper, the speed at which time passes becomes slower and slower. In the shallower levels of dreams, a moment in the outside world is equivalent to one year in the dream. In the deeper levels of dreams, a moment in the outside world is equivalent to several decades in the dream, just like what is said in the ancient book "a dream of yellow millet". "So here comes the question, how can I wake up? Do I really have to stay in this dream for a full six years?" What’s the joke? Qiao Mu rarely practiced martial arts in the real world, but now he has to practice hard for a full six years in this dream? Qiao Mu walked alone on the empty streets, feeling lost in his heart. He looked out at the vast desert beyond the city, and saw only the unchanging sun in the sky. Standing still on the street, he didn’t know what to do. At this moment, he wandered aimlessly in this empty city, as if the world had already been destroyed and he was the only survivor. At first, he was confused, just walking in the empty city in his dream. He had never practiced martial arts before, and for the first time in his life, he felt a strong resistance towards it. He just walked aimlessly, letting different thoughts echo in his mind. "Are all my memories of martial arts real? Is it just because I haven’t undergone spiritual refining that I am unable to recall my dream memories, and they are naturally forgotten when I wake up?" "What on earth is this Ouroboros Long Life Lock?" In the endless passage of time within the dream, he wandered alone. From the desolate city to the vast desert, from the desert to the dream Imperial Capital, from the dream Imperial Capital to the Heyang City, and finally back to the original Yan City. The scenery in his dream constantly changed according to his desires, but what remained constant was the emptiness wherever he went, as if it were a prison with only him inside. In the endless passage of time within the dream, he didn’t know how long he had been walking until he finally stopped in confusion. Maybe it was a few days, maybe it was a few months? In the past, he acted without any taboos, without considering whether it would offend the powerful, without weighing the pros and cons. His heart and actions were guided by his desires, doing whatever he wanted in a reckless manner. And the only cost he had to bear was the aging of his physical body. But now he just realized that every time he dies, he has to spend decades in prison in his dreams? It didn’t matter that he couldn’t remember dreams before, but now he can’t pretend to know nothing about everything. "Why bother like this?" He suddenly felt a little discouraged. It’s like a corporate worker passing by a school suddenly hearing the bell for class, instinctively thinking they’re late, and then realizing they’ve already graduated. Qiao Mu always considered himself a young person, but who would have known that he was actually a real amnesiac old man in his two hundred and odd years? "I’ve been drifting for over two hundred years, and only today do I realize that I’m already an old man." "What am I aiming for? A face full of wrinkles now, pretending to be older? No, not pretending, I truly am older." Qiao Mu felt inexplicably cold in his heart, feeling no interest at all. Clairvoyance’s previous speculation as Storyteller was actually quite reasonable. Qiao Mu always had choices. He could have chosen the easy mode, where he wouldn’t have to slaughter the Jiu Province and become a demon while chasing after negative high-quality deaths… With his strength, he could have already become a king in the world of martial arts. Can’t defeat inhuman, can’t defeat martial artists either? Instead of being treated like a dog by the Nine Immortal Gates, he could easily become a superior person and enjoy wealth and luxury. Why should he struggle and die, only to be trapped in a dream prison for decades after death? Why suffer unnecessarily? With those thoughts in his heart, he once again started practicing the Long Life Fist on the streets of Yan City in his dream, flowing smoothly like water, over and over again. No matter what he thought in his heart, after nearly two hundred years of practicing his fists, it had become a habit in his muscles, a part of his life.